Conservative Muslim Women Hide Knack for Fashion Under Their Religious Robes

Umm Juwayriyah is draped in all black, her head, arms, and legs completely covered — only her face is exposed. But peaking out from under her outer garments, one might just catch a glimpse of glimmer or shine, a vibrant glow: red satin open-toe platforms with stockings underneath, the shoes as bright and flashy as a pair in the window of a Manolo Blahnik shop or on the cover of a glossy fashion magazine.

Beneath the robes of many Muslim women all over the country (and all over the world), fashion is happening, very often completely hidden from outside observers.

Mrs. Juwayriyah, a 27-year-old American-born Muslim woman from Springfield, Mass., describes the style of dress she wears as a bit eccentric, though it is usually covered by her everyday Islamic attire — a jilbab (a traditional Islamic over garment), a hijab (headscarf), and a niqab (face veil) — and visible only in the privacy of her home and at all-female gatherings.

"I like classic vintage styles like pleated shirts, high-waisted pants, and high heels — and then there are days where I'm all urban-styled with Baby Phat sweats, Jordans, and a Kathy Van Zeeland bag."

Mrs. Juwayriyah, a mother of two, a full-time college student, and a published novelist and poet, says she has had both Muslim and non-Muslim women compliment her style many times at the grocery store and while taking her morning walk. She adds, "My Islamic clothing doesn't hinder me from being fashionable. ... I'll have on an all-black jilbab and a pair of pink pumps from Bakers to show a bit of my own style."

Last year's Islamic holy month of Ramadan — when Muslims fast between dawn and dusk each day — was a busy time for Mrs. Juwayriyah and her friends, with many events to attend, among them Ladies' Night Out at Red Lobster to kick off the start of the holiday. When out on the town and in public places, the women wore their religious attire, but they also planned a lot of engagements behind closed doors, where they could shed their coverings freely in order to show off some style. For instance, they gathered at one another's homes to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the breaking of the Ramadan fast, and they frequently organized women-only get-togethers.

"There are times when I go to events where I have to prepare two separate, unique outfits: my outer garments and then the clothes underneath it," Mrs. Juwayriyah says, referring to these all-female parties.

Brooke Samad, a 28-year-old Muslim woman from central New Jersey who runs the clothing line Marabo — which specializes in contemporary but conservative clothes for women of all ages — says there is a common misconception that Muslim women don't have a relationship to fashion. "A lot of women cover because they want to be respected, they don't want to be objectified," Ms. Samad says. "But there's a big difference between not wanting to be objectified and not wanting to be ugly!"

Ms. Samad adds: "Just because women cover doesn't mean they don't walk into Banana Republic and think, 'This is a beautiful dress' — they might just think that they can't wear it" out in the open.

Amina Benlafquih, 42, who describes her style as classic and modest by many people's standards, considers shopping at the boutiques with her almost-teenage daughter a nice "girly thing" to do. Ms. Benlafquih covers with an abaya (a long outer garment similar to the jilbab), a long khimar (headscarf) past her waist, a face veil, and gloves.

Originally from Rochester, N.Y., but living in Casablanca, Morocco, for the last few years, Ms. Benlafquih was a convert to Islam at age 27. Of her mother-daughter shopping experience, she confesses, "We're a bit of an odd couple in the trendy shopping areas. You don't find many women like me in niqab, or many girls like my daughter in abaya and hijab."

For some, however, dressing the part of a religious or traditional Muslim woman may not come naturally. At 18, Mina El-Taieb, who was born and raised in Brooklyn Heights, was whisked away to Yemen, her family's homeland. When Ms. El-Taieb got off of the plane, she was just wearing a skirt, a jacket, and a scarf, but a week and a half later, her mother handed her an abaya. Ms. El-Taieb did not see this coming, and needless to say, was less than pleased, at first.

Yet Ms. El-Taieb, now 27, eventually figured out a way to make wearing the abaya her own, which she says was important because of her American roots. "My whole issue with the abaya was that in Brooklyn I came from being a punk rocker — dress was all about individuality, and here I am dressed like everybody else," she explains.

Like "everybody else," Ms. El-Taieb may have appeared modest on the outside, but her confidence was coming from somewhere else — and the casual observer would never have known. In Yemen and later in Dubai, she would always wear tight jeans and low-cut tank tops underneath her abaya, "because you still want to feel sexy," she says. "The way you're dressed under your abaya is the way you project how you feel, the way you project yourself to other people. If I'm going out in my PJs under my abaya, I'll just feel sluggish. But if I'm going out and I'm dressed in my tight jeans, I just act differently with people."

Ms. El-Taieb laughs to herself as she recounts memories of living in the Middle East and the "crazy" stories she has brought back home with her, "When I was living in Dubai, there was a girl who wore a closed abaya with a bikini under it! She would just be at university walking around with a bikini under her abaya, and nobody would know. It was great."

Amber El-Taieb, Mina's sister, currently lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but, like Mina, splits her time between Dubai, Yemen, and Brooklyn. She says she has fluctuated between different phases, covering her hair with a hijab, wearing an abaya, and many variations in between.

"When I dress up under my abaya and pair it with heels, I feel very elegant, even if a person can only see a hint of my outfit underneath," Amber El-Taieb explains.

As only sisters could, Amber mirrors Mina's thoughts about pajamas, saying in a separate conversation, "I can wear a pair of PJs with heels underneath and still give off the vibe of being dressed up, but I will feel like a person who has walked out of the house with PJs and heels on!"

Menahal Begawala, 25 years old and currently living in Las Vegas, covers her hair with a hijab, and her face (except for eyes and forehead) with a niqab. While Ms. Begawala covers rather thoroughly, she says she just likes to look nice and does not like to mismatch.

She describes an outfit she wore earlier to work recently — a dark-blue jilbab, open from the front, over a sleeveless light-blue dress. She usually wears her jilbab closed, but she had these made in two pieces with the intention to wear them together because of the contrast.

"I try to always make sure the hijab matches my outfit as well — in this case, my hijab was light blue," she says with obvious pride.

Ms. Begawala, who is a second-grade teacher, also mentions the 50%-off sale that she went to at New York & Company, where she stocked up on clothes to wear underneath her full-length, full-sleeved jilbab that is loosely fitted so as not to show the shape of her body.

In sync with the comments of Ms. Samad — the clothing-designer at Marabo — Ms. Begawala says, "If I could afford Nordstrom or Banana Republic, I'd shop there."